The article can be added again.

In July thousands will protest the Republican convention in Philadelphia. And in August, thousands more will converge in Los Angeles to protest a party which has deceived and betrayed the American people. There are arguments for not protesting the Democrats, the strongest being the 68 argument. When violent clashes erupted at the democratic convention in Chicago, Nixon was placed into office the following year. Could we really imagine a world with another Bush in office? This is a very real threat. However, there comes a time to face facts.

The harsh reality is that we do not live in true a democracy- but rather a Democracy of illusion, of theatre. It is a democracy for the few, those who have the money and power to buy political campaigns, make contributions, form lobbies, and run the real government that is insidiously eroding our lives. The Democrats and Republicans are running a show, entertaining us all while real decisions are being made behind closed doors. Al Gore, for example has such strong ties to Occidental Petroleum, that he works vigorously to keep the issues of the U

This article rocks. It is motivational and inspires appropriate disdain for the sham that is our democracy.

Bob

Keep it up guys. Your more fun to watch than television.

One could hope that Stevo's thinking would be better than his spelling

(it's "You're" not "Your") but www.rightspin.com is typical simplistic

right wing "can't see beyond the end of your nose" stuff. More proof

that listening to Rush destroys brain cells, and hardly worth

commenting about.

What is worth discussing is whether protesting the Democrats and/or

voting Green is worth the risk of losing this election to the Republicans.

It depends on 1) how awful you think 4 years of Bush will be, 2) how

close the election will be between Bush and Gore (how much does

Gore have to lose), and 3) how good of a shot the Greens have at

winning the necessary votes to be deemed a "real" party by the Feds,

and therefore worthy of campaign cash in future elections (and of course,

whether such recognition and cash in itself would be a good thing).

It also depends on whether you think protests would do any good in the

sense of bringing the Dems back to a progressive agenda.

Personally, I feel that it makes virtually zero difference whether the democrats or republicans win the election. Both parties basically serve the same profit-driven agenda. Arguing about which of the two corporate dominated candidates would be worse, to me, is irrelevant. It would only shift attention and focus away from what is necessary to promote change. Failing to target BOTH parties and both conventions because some may dislike one candidate a little more/less than the other only helps to validate their corrupt, paid-off electoral system.

Frankly, I don't care which of these two pigs is going to win in November. Both parties are full of crap and will happily sell us out to their campaign contributors. It's important that we stand up to both the republican and democratic parties. Otherwise, their system itself goes unchallenged.

Both parties and their conventions are more than deserving of disobedience and disruptive protest.

reading this article puts it all back into perspective...I work for a nonprofit that has close ties to another social change group that just endorsed Gore's campaign. It is all under the assumption that its better to have him than Bush, and Nader isn't about to make it, so--where to put the votes. But really, the Democratic Party scam is worse for liberals, moderates, whatever you call them for the sale of the big lie, and for buying us out for his crackpot environmentalism etc. The protests at the Democratic Convention in LA will be telling...in terms of who comes and who stays at home. I am young, I admit openly, and I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out. So many people feel alienated by the protests while so many others are just beginning to wake up. It is unfortunate that it still comes down to money, and the USA is the biggest Megamachine of all and its token green/brown/white/black/red/yellowbacks. time to break away -- I know where I'll be in Auguest

Ditto! It makes little or no difference which party gains control of the White House—regardless, it will be business as usual. Is it wise to protest the Democratic convention? You bet it is! They deserve to be protested even more than the Republican party. Malcom X once said that he preferred southern whites to the liberal northeastern whites because the southerners were upfront with their racism and that he at least knew where he, as a black man, stood with them. Likewise, the Republicans are only behaving like we expect Republicans to behave. They have always been upfront about their support for big business and moneyed interests. We've known for a long time where they stood in regard to our interests—on the other side of the fence. The Democrats

however are attempting to straddle the fence between our interests, their traditional voting base, and those of their corporate sponsors who are funding their campaigns. Clinton and Co. have taken what were once worker-friendly, women-friendly, minority-friendly Democratic values and re-packaged them into a new brand of corporate-friendly political product called a 'Nu Democrat'. But be warned ladies and gentlemen! A close read of the ingredients on the

back of this package and you will discover that this product is nothing but 'Republican Lite'. My suggestion for other disenfranchised Democrats? In August, go to L.A. and GET MEAN! In November, go to your polling place and VOTE GREEN!

The article sums up the plethora of issues that make protesting the Democrats worthwhile. However there is one issue - - a big one - - that many activists seem to underplay. The War in Columbia is mentioned briefly here: Gore's holdings in Occidental Petroleum, and his hypocritical stance. Lets be more blunt: it is directed against the insurgency and will escalate rapidly, as the Clinton promise of 1.6 billion in mostly military aid works through the Senate. Columbia is swarming with US agents, military advisors, training facilities, etc. More helicopters, radar, intelligence, etc. is about to be sent. Both parties agree on the package, so it's not even being debated in the campaign. The big media is onside as well. What a joke. The argument is between two competing lobbies: Bell vs. United Technologies, will it be Huey or Black Hawk helicopters? Which block of capital will get the go ahead to send their machines of death?

This issue, which is being debated in the Senate, but is very underplayed by the media, similarly lacks stature among activists. In my view, it should be front and centre, on the streets, in Philly and L.A.